Online Business Listings Success

Getting your business listed

A stumbling block for many small business owners is how to get your website to appear in search engine results. Every time a customer searches for information related to your business you want your website to appear in the search listings, but the information customers find needs to be correct. There are several online business directories to help, many charge a fee, but some are free.

Setting up your listings

The first thing to bear in mind when you set up your listing is that you always want information to be consistent, wherever the search results come from. Remember NAP:

Name

Address

Phone

Keep your business details in the same format whenever you enter them.

Why Getting Listed Is Important

Claiming your business listings gives you control over how search engines index you. It can prevent spammers from hijacking your name or contact details. When you set up your business listing effectively you can improve your search engine rankings and bring more traffic to your site.

What you will need to List Your Business Correctly

Not every listing will ask for the same information. Before you begin entering your business details in a business listings directory it is a good idea to have all your information in one place. Can you provide the following for your business?

Keyword Help

To find keywords you can use Google Keyword Checker http://www.googlekeywordtool.com. This will help you test the strength of your website for key terms, and suggest alternatives.

Where to start

The most important places to claim your business listing are on these predominant sites:

Google

Bing

Yahoo

Yelp

Citysearch

SuperPages

With consistent listings information on these key pages you can then establish a presence on social media (a whole other topic). With a Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media site profile that is branded the same throughout, you can be sure that your business has a better chance of reaching its target audience. Industry specific directories can also be of benefit, but remember to review information from time-to-time. And if you change something, like a phone number or e-mail address, then you need to change it everywhere.

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1 Comment

I am working on a business idea where i will have to have listings of local merchants / businesses. There are umpteen websites that list local businesses but I am wondering how they get this data and what is the most cost effective way of getting this list?